Update: Despite Microsoft referring to the test platform as running on a next-generation OMAP processor, TI tells us that the Windows 8 tablet was running an OMAP 4470, not OMAP 5.

Microsoft showed off the Windows 8 Consumer Preview running on NVIDIA's Tegra 3, Qualcomm's Krait based Snapdragon, TI's OMAP 4470 and Intel's Clover Trail platform. All four of these platforms will be supported by Windows 8 at launch (although not all will be available at launch) and all of them will support connected standby. Similar to how smartphones work today, connected standby allows emails, tweets and other network updates to come to the device while it's asleep.

Of the four supported mobile SoC platforms, only Intel's Clover Trail will offer a full Windows Desktop experience as it can run all existing x86 applications. The ARM based devices will have a limited Windows Desktop experience, although both ISAs will support Metro.

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DX9 requires at least FP24 support for pixel shaders. Tegra 2 only supported FP20 pixel shaders. That Tegra 3 is supported in WIndows 8 mean that it's pixel shaders have been improved or has an exception been made for DX9 compliance?Reply

Although Win8 looks very nice, I am not really liking the user experience so far. May need to spend more time with it. Used a touch screen monitor on an Intel PC just to get a feel for what it would be like on a tablet. Reply